The Attempted Murder of the Rice Whale

  Between from the ages of thirteen through seventeen I was a volunteer employee at the Toledo Zoo. To this day I identify as a conservationist, and fight to protect wildlife. This is why I was heartbroken to learn that President Donald Trump is looking for an exemption from the Endangered Species Act to drill for oil in the Gulf of Mexico. 

The Endangered Species Act is supposed to protect wildlife that is listed as threatened or endangered. To be considered endangered, there must be less than 2,500 left in the wild. Some of the animals in the Gulf of Mexico the Endangered Species Act is protecting are the green sea turtle (threatened), the leatherback sea turtle (endangered), and the Rice's whale (endangered). 

Green Sea Turtle

Right now, the Endangered Species Act is preventing President Trump from expanding oil drilling in the Gulf of Mexico. President Trump is looking for a national security exemption to expand oil drilling in the Gulf of Mexico. The president’s exact plan for the Gulf is unclear, but it will put the marine life in danger, including the Rice’s whale. Only about 50 Rice’s whales are left in the wild. 

Rice's Whale

My brother grew up watching Chris and Martin Kratt on Wild Kratts, a kids’ show where the Kratt brothers travel the world learning about and protecting wildlife. I, like many of us, grew up watching the crocodile hunter, Steve Irwin. In recent years, Steve Irwin’s son, Robert Irwin, brought conservation back to the minds of the public. All three of these conservationists have one goal in common: protect the wildlife. And they help do so by bringing people’s attention to these animals through television and social media. 

Steve Irwin

I am not a famous conservationist, but I did spend my teen years teaching people about conservation and why it is important to care for wildlife. My favorite story from when I was a ZOOTeen is when I was working a summer camp. These two young girls—they must have been no more than eight—kept looking at the signs outside the animal's enclosures. They kept noticing the “Endangered Species” symbol on the signs and got very upset that the animals were going extinct. Finally, I told them that the symbol under the endangered species one was for the Species Survival Plan
, a program where zoos work together to keep endangered species alive. I explained to the girls why it was important and that as adults they can help keep these animals alive. That day I watched two young girls start to care about conservation. 

The fact that something as simple as a symbol can get two eight-year-old so upset about endangered animals that they suddenly want to fight for conservation says people do care about wildlife. I am disgusted that President Trump would put these beautiful, endangered creatures at risk for oil when environmentally sustainable options are just waiting for someone to sign off on them. Oil should never be more important than our environment.